Selective air dosing means for cigarettes

ABSTRACT

A cigarette filter which can be adapted to any kind of cigarette, regular or filter, and be torn off if desired. It could be used for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air. When used in combination with an ordinary cigarette, the resulting cigarette comprises a cylindrical tobacco roll, surrounded with its usual paper wrapper, and a filter. The filter is spacedly mounted at one end of the tobacco roll to define a hollow cylindrical inner space therebetween. Inside the hollow cylindrical inner space, there is a porous disc, in which the opposite faces are preferably both concave. This disc is positioned substantially half-way between the end of the cylindrical tobacco roll and the filter to divide the hollow cylindrical space into a first and a second smoke cooling chamber. Perforations are provided in the walls of both smoke cooling chambers and the perforations can at will be covered or uncovered to cause one or both chambers to become permeable to air. In this manner, when only filtering of the smoke is desired the filter cigarette is used as such. When smoke diluted with air is desired, the first cooling chamber is made permeable to air. Finally, if air exclusively is intended to be inhaled, both cooling chambers are rendered permeable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke. The disclosure also relates to a filter cigarette adapted with the above supplementary filtering device.

United States Patent 1 Plourde 51 Sept. 18,1973

[ SELECTIVE AIR DOSING MEANS FOR CIGARETTES [76] Inventor: Jacques Plourde, 1525 Ave. des

Flandres, Ste-Fey, Quebec 10, Canada [22] Filed: Aug. 5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 61,086

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 25, 1970 Canada 083,703

[52] U.S. Cl. ..131/9,131/10 A, 13l/l5 B, 131/198 A [51] Int. Cl A24d 01/04 [58] Field of Search 131/9, 10, 10 A, 131/10.3, 15 B, 198, 198 A, 10.7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,496,945 2/1970 Tomkin 131/198 R X 3,410,273 1l/1968 Bolles 131/9 X 2,923,647 2/1960 Aghnides 131/9 3,554,201 1/1971 Strausser 131/198 X 2,954,772 10/1960 Lebert 131/10.9 X 3,283,762 ll/l966 Kissel 131/9 X 1,630,243 5/1927 Rosan l3l/l98 A 2,747,579 5/1956 Gage et al 13l/l0.7 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 675,076 11/1963 Canada 131/10 A Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich Attorney-Raymond A. Robic [57] ABSTRACT A cigarette filter which can be adapted to any kind of cigarette, regular or filter, and be torn off if desired. It could be used for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air. When used in combination with an ordinary cigarette, the resulting cigarette comprises a cylindrical tobacco roll, surrounded with its usual paper wrapper, and a filter. The filter is spacedly mounted at one end of the tobacco roll to define a hol low cylindrical inner space therebetween. Inside the hollow cylindrical inner space, there is a porous disc, in which the opposite faces are preferably both concave. This disc is positioned substantially half-way between the end of the cylindrical tobacco roll and the filter to divide the hollow cylindrical space into a first and a second smoke cooling chamber. Perforations are provided in the walls of both smoke cooling chambers and the perforations can at will be covered or uncovered to cause one or both chambers to become permeable to air. In this manner, when only filtering of the smoke is desired the filter cigarette is used as such. When smoke diluted with air is desired, the first cooling chamber is made permeable to air. Finally, if air exclusively is intended to be inhaled, both cooling chambers are rendered permeable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke. The disclosure also relates to a filter cigarette adapted with the above supplementary filtering device.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3 INVENTOR Jacques PLOURDE A TTORNE Y SELECTIVE AIR DOSING MEANS FOR CIGARETTES This invention is directed to a filter cigarrette. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cigarette which is provided with a device adapted to produce improved filtering of the smoke from cigarette s and to selectively dilute said smoke with air.

To be realistic, it is obvious that the controvercy concerning the harm due to cigarette smoking is still very deep. After many individual efforts to discover an ideal cigarette or to stop smoking, after all the research done by cigarette manufacturers and the introduction on the market of a great number of filters, after many warnings and legislative proposals made by various governments, after the propoganda by various groups on the harm caused by cigarettes and the fighting back of human rights groups, the same problem remains.

The only concrete result is a slight decrease of the number of smokers, leaving nearly everybody dissatisfied.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages, I have now found that it is possible to produce a cigarette which is so versatile in its use that it can be smoked as well by those who refuse to use a filter, those who wish to smoke their preferred filter cigarette as usual, those who only wish to have an acceptable filtering of the smoke, those who are interested in air-attenuating the cigarette smoke and finally even by those who would be content merely to handle a cigarette and inhale air to calm their nervousness.

For these purposes, I have provided a filter cigarette which is intended for filtering smoke and selectively diluting the smoke with air. The filter cigarette of my invention comprises a cylindrical tobacco roll surrounded with its usual paper wrapper, and a filter. First means are provided to spacedly mount the filter at one end of the tobacco roll and these first means define a hollow cylindrical inner space between the end of the cylindrical tobacco roll and the filter.

A circular porous disc in which the opposite face are preferably both concave is mounted in the hollow cylindrical inner space substantially halfway between the end of the tobacco roll and the filter. The circular porous disc thus divides the hollow cylindrical space into a first and a second smoke cooling chamber. Finally, means are provided which are operable to cause the first and/or second chamber to become permeable to air. In this manner, when only filtering of the smoke is desired, the filter is used as such while the first and second chambers are impervious to air. When smoke diluted with air is desired, the first cooling chamber is made permeable to air. Finally if air exclusively is intended to be inhaled, both cooling chambers are rendered permeable to air, thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention, there is provided a filter wrapper, preferably made of paper, which surrounds the filter and extends past the end of the cylindrical tobacco roll over the paper filter, to hold the cigarette and to define the hollow cylindrical space between the tobacco roll and the filter.

According to another embodiment, the filter wrapper may be formed with peripheral microscopic or macroscopic pores or perforations in the portions thereof which surround each cooling chamber and these porous portions or perforations are each covered in sticking engagement thereover with a removable masking tear strip.

The filter wrapper may be formed to overlie the end of the tobacco roll over the paper wrapper, and in this case, there is provided another removable masking tear strip which is mounted in sticking engagement over both the filter wrapper and the tobacco roll paper wrapper. This serves to facilitate an easy removal of the filtering device by a person who wishes to smoke a cigarette without a filter. It will be noted that the filtering device of the invention can be mounted at the end of a regular filter cigarette, and in this case the device disclosed herein is shorter.

In accordance with yet another preferred embodiment, the first and/or second cooling chambers comprise at least one substance deposited therein selected from the group consisting of catalysts, anti-tar agents and anti-nicotine agents.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention.

FIG. I is a perspective view of the cigarette filter according to my invention mounted at the end of a regular cigarette with masking tear strips shown in dotted lines while being removed;

FIG. 2 is an exploded enlarged fragmentary view partly cut away of the same cigarette filter; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section through the filter end of the filter cigarette of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, the filter cigarette l of my invention will be seen to comprise a cylindrical tobacco roll 3 which is surrounded with a paper wrapper S. The filter cigarette 1 is provided at one end thereof with a filtering and air-diluting device which will now be described and will be referred to for the sake of conciseness, as the filter 7.

The filter 7 comprises a cylindrical roll of filtering material 9 or tobacco which is surrounded by a filter wrapper 11. The filtering material 9 should of course be shorter when the cigarette filter is mounted at the end of a filter cigarette. It will be noted that the filter wrapper 11, while entirely surrounding the filtering material 9 also extends a certain distance past the end 13 of the tobacco roll 3 over the paper wrapper 5 all in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings. In this manner, the filter wrapper will connect the tobacco roll 3 and filtering material 9 and define as cigarette. a substantially hollow cylindrical inner space between the end 13 of the tobacco roll 3 and the filtering material 9. cigarettes Substantially midway between the end 13 of the cylindrical tobacco roll 3 and the filtering material 9, there is mounted in the hollow cylindrical inner space defined above, a porous disc 15 made of refractory material in which both opposite faces 15a and 15b are concave. In this manner, the porous disc divides the above hollow cylindrical inner space into two smoke cooling and circulating chambers 17 and 19. As illustrated by the arrows 21 and 23, the smoke which is sucked from the tobacco roll first penetrates into the first smoke cooling chamber 17 where the heavy portions circulate in a whirling motion (arrows 23) and may even be deposited, while the lighter and less harmful portion pass through the porous disc 15 into and through the second cooling chamber I9 (arrows 21). There again the heavier portion may also be subject to a whirling motion (arrows 23).

The filter wrapper 11 comprises two depressed zones 25 and 27 in the form of rings which respectively surround smoke cooling chambers 17 and 19. The de pressed zones 25 and 27 are each formed with peripheral macroscopic pores or perforations 28 and 28a which allow the access of air into these chambers when there is a suction produced through the filtering material 9. The depressed zones 25 and 27 are each covered with removable masking tear strips 29 and 31 and the purpose thereof will be discussed more in details hereinbelow.

Finally, the filter wrapper 11 is terminated by an circular depressed area 33 which will serve to connect the filter wrapper 11 to the cylindrical tobacco roll 3. This is made possible by providing a masking tear strip 35, having a configuration as illustrated in the drawings, in sticking engagement over both the paper wrapper S and the filter wrapper 11.

A line of demarcation 37 is printed on the filter wrapper 11 to indicate the extreme limit to which the cigarette may be used.

To understand the operation and advantages of the filter cigarette of my invention, let us assume that all the cigarettes which are sold are provided with the filtering device just described.

Basically there are four type of cigarette smokers:

1. those who prefer a cigarette without any filtering 2. those who are used to smoke an ordinary filter cigarette;

3. those who have elected to dilute with air the smoke that they inhale; and

4. those who would like to stop smoking but cannot quit the nervous habit of manipulating a lighted cigarette and holding it in their mouth.

For the first type of smokers, they merely have to tear off the masking tear strip 35 and they are left with an ordinary cigarette which they can smoke by their own free will.

If the smoker elects to smoke an ordinary filter cigarette he merely uses the cigarette as it comes out of the package realizing that he will obtain filtering of the smoke, or he will buy his preferred filter cigarette provided with the filtering device of my invention, which he will tear off.

For those who wish to air-attenuate the cigarette smoke, this is easily accomplished by tearing off the masking tear strip 29 and the air introduced into the smoke cooling chamber 17 will be mixed with the smoke.

If both masking tear strips 29 and 31 are removed so much air will finally be allowed in the cooling chambers 17 and 19 that the device will preclude any substantial inhaling of smoke. in other words at each puffing of the cigarette smoke, the air penetrates by the shortest and easiest route, i.e., through the macroscopic pores or perforations 28a. The porous disc then creates an obstacle which is sufficient to prevent smoke from passing therethrough. If it ever passes through the disc 15, it will whirl in chamber 19 and exit through the macroscopic pores or perforations 28a. in this manner, the person using it will in fact accomplish an act of smoking but will not really smoke since there will be no substantial inhaling of smoke.

I claim:

1. A filter cigarette intended for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air comprising:

a. a cylindrical tobacco roll surrounded with a paper wrapper; b. a filter;

c. first means to mount said filter adjacent one end of said cylindrical tobacco roll and spaced therefrom, said first means including a masking tear strip means for permitting the removal of said filter from said tobacco roll, said tear strip means being mounted in sticking engagement over said paper wrapper;

d. said first means defining a hollow cylindrical chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter;

e. a circular porous disc positioned in said hollow cy' lindrical chamber substantially halfway between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter;

f. said circular porous disc dividing said hollow cylindrical chamber portion into a first smoke cooling chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said disc, said first smoke cooling chamber portion receiving smoke from said one end of said tobacco roll, and a second smoke cooling chamber portion between said disc and said filter, said second cooling chamber receiving smoke passing from said first smoke cooling chamber and through said disc;

g. said first means including a pair of air permeable portions, each portion effecting communication between the exterior of said cigarette and one of said cooling chamber portions, said first means further including removable second and third means each of which cooperate with one of said air permeable portions to selectively seal said portions thereby blocking communication between the exterior of said cigarette and one of said cooling chamber portions whereby if no filtering of smoke is desired said first means and said filter are removed from said one end of said cylindrical tobacco roll by said tear strip means, if only filtering of said smoke is desired, the filter cigarette is used as such while said second and said third means are in place on said first means, if smoke diluted with air is desired said second means is removed to cause said first cooling chamber portion to be permeable to air, and if air in the substantial absence of smoke is intended to be inhaled, said second and said third means are removed to cause both said cooling chamber portions to be rendered penneable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke.

2. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first means comprise a filter wrapper which surrounds said filter and extends past said one end of said tobacco roll over said paper wrapper, said filter and said one end being spaced from one another and defining said hollow cylindrical chamber between said tobacco roll and said filter.

3. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 2, wherein said removable second and third means comprise masking tear strips.

s. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim in claim 1, wherein at least one of said cooling chamber portions comprises of tar absorbing and nicotine absorbing agents 5. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opposite faces of said porous disc are concave.

6. A filter cigarette intended for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air comprising:

a. a cylindrical tobacco roll surrounded with a paper wrapper;

b. a smoke filter; c. a smoke filter wrapper which surrounds said smoke filter and extends past one end of said tobacco roll over said paper wrapper;

d. said smoke filter and said one end of said tobacco roll being covered with said smoke filter wrapper, said smoke filter and smoke filter wrapper defining a hollow cylindrical chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter;

. a circular refractory porous disc in which the opsaid circular refractory porous disc dividing said hollow cylindrical chamber into a first and a second smoke cooling chamber portion;

g. said smoke filter wrapper having perforations in portions thereof surrounding said smoke cooling chamber portions h. the perforated portion of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion being covered with a first removable masking tear strip;

. the perforated portion of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion being covered with a second removable masking tear strip;

j. a third removable masking tear strip mounted in sticking and overlapping engagement over said smoke filter wrapper and said paper wrapper, whereby if no filtering of smoke is desired said third removable masking tear strip is removed and said smoke filter and said smoke filter wrapper are thrown away, if only filtering of said smoke is desired the filter cigarette is used as such while the first, second and third masking tear strips are in place respectively over the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding said first and said second cooling chamber portion and over said smoke filter wrapper and said paper wrapper, if smoke diluted with air is desired said first tear strip is removed to uncover the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion to cause said first cooling chamber portion to be permeable to air, and if air exclusively is intended to be inhaled, said first and said second tear strips are removed to uncover the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding both said first and said second cooling chamber portions to cause said first and said second cooling chamber portions to be rendered permeable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke.

7. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said cooling chamber portions includes a nicotine absorbing agent. 

1. A filter cigarette intended for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air comprising: a. a cylindrical tobacco roll surrounded with a paper wrapper; b. a filter; c. first means to mount said filter adjacent one end of said cylindrical tobacco roll and spaced therefrom, said first means including a masking tear strip means for permitting the removal of said filter from said tobacco roll, said tear strip means being mounted in sticking engagement over said paper wrapper; d. said first means defining a hollow cylindrical chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter; e. a circular porous disc positioned in said hollow cylindrical chamber substantially halfway between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter; f. said circular porous disc dividing said hollow cylindrical chamber portion into a first smoke cooling chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said disc, said first smoke cooling chamber portion receiving smoke from said one end of said tobacco roll, and a second smoke cooling chamber portion between said disc and said filter, said second cooling chamber receiving smoke passing from said first smoke cooling chamber and through said disc; g. said first means including a pair of air permeable portions, each portion effecting communication between the exterior of said cigarette and one of said cooling chamber portions, said first means further including removable second and third means each of which cooperate with one of said air permeable portions to selectively seal said portions thereby blocking communication between the exterior of said cigarette and one of said cooling chamber portions whereby if no filtering of smoke is desired said first means and said filter are removed from said one end of said cylindrical tobacco roll by said tear strip means, if only filtering of said smoke is desired, the filter cigarette is used as such while said second and said third means are in place on said first means, if smoke diluted with air is desired said second means is removed to cause said first cooling chamber portion to be permeable to air, and if air in the substantial absence of smoke is intended to be inhaled, said second and said third means are removed to cause both said cooling chamber portions to be rendered permeable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke.
 2. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first means comprise a filter wrapper which surrounds said filter and extends past said one end of said tobacco roll over said paper wrapper, said filter and said one end being spaced from one another and defining said hollow cylindrical chamber between said tobacco roll and said filter.
 3. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 2, wherein said removable second and third means comprise masking tear strips.
 4. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim in claim 1, wherein at least one of said cooling chamber portions comprises of tar absorbing and nicotine absorbing agents
 5. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opposite faces of said porous disc are concave.
 6. A filter cigarette intended for filtering smoke and selectively diluting said smoke with air comprising: a. a cylindrical tobacco roll surrounded with a paper wrapper; b. a smoke filter; c. a smoke filter wrapper which surrounds said smoke filter and extends past one end of said tobacco roll over said paper wrapper; d. said smoke filter and said one end of said tobacco roll being covered with said smoke filter wrapper, said smoke filter and smoke filter wrapper defining a hollow cylindrical chamber between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter; e. a circular refractory porous disc in which the opposite faces are concave, said disc positioned in said hollow cylindrical chamber substantially halfway between said one end of said tobacco roll and said filter; f. said circular refractory porous Disc dividing said hollow cylindrical chamber into a first and a second smoke cooling chamber portion; g. said smoke filter wrapper having perforations in portions thereof surrounding said smoke cooling chamber portions h. the perforated portion of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion being covered with a first removable masking tear strip; i. the perforated portion of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion being covered with a second removable masking tear strip; j. a third removable masking tear strip mounted in sticking and overlapping engagement over said smoke filter wrapper and said paper wrapper, whereby if no filtering of smoke is desired said third removable masking tear strip is removed and said smoke filter and said smoke filter wrapper are thrown away, if only filtering of said smoke is desired the filter cigarette is used as such while the first, second and third masking tear strips are in place respectively over the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding said first and said second cooling chamber portion and over said smoke filter wrapper and said paper wrapper, if smoke diluted with air is desired said first tear strip is removed to uncover the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding said first cooling chamber portion to cause said first cooling chamber portion to be permeable to air, and if air exclusively is intended to be inhaled, said first and said second tear strips are removed to uncover the perforated portions of said wrapper surrounding both said first and said second cooling chamber portions to cause said first and said second cooling chamber portions to be rendered permeable to air thus precluding any substantial inhaling of smoke.
 7. A filter cigarette as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said cooling chamber portions includes a nicotine absorbing agent. 